For every Rs 100 laundered, only Re 1 recovered by authorities: CJI Surya Kant

Chief Justice of India Surya Kant revealed that for every Rs 100 laundered, authorities recover only Re 1, largely due to the cleverness of economic criminals and the absence of global cooperation in extraditing fugitives. At the 43rd International Symposium on Economic Crime in Cambridge, Kant emphasized that the vast amount of money laundered globally each year could purchase a laptop for every person on earth.

He quoted ancient Indian statesman Kautilya's Arthashastra, which stated it was impossible for an official to manage the king's revenue without benefiting from it, and stressed the importance of audits, cross-verification, and confiscating ill-gotten gains. Although India has extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties with foreign countries, the actual amount of property recovered remains "frankly, underwhelming."

Kant highlighted that illicit wealth and economic crimes move faster than treaty ratifications, making it impossible for any single jurisdiction to tackle them alone. He called for countries to use tools like forfeiture orders, unexplained wealth orders, beneficial ownership registers, and financial intelligence sharing together, rather than individually.

Kant also mentioned that India had initiated extradition processes for Vijay Mallya with the UK and Nirav Modi with the US, but both cases have not resulted in extradition.